The Gathering Amid the Spider Tide

"That's a really impressive move, Seagull!"

Watching the falling meteorites crush the spiders to death and destroy and ignite the spider Spider Silk that had formed webs of various sizes, Gao Shan couldn't help but praise them.

Hearing Gao Shan's praise, the Seagull couldn't help but proudly form a mudra with its hands and strike a cool pose.

"Of course! This is a secret technique I learned from my master in the Black Marsh World —of course, I myself couldn't replicate it as well, but this is the authentic version from my master in the Black Marsh World!"

The illusory image of the eagle's face and tiger's claws in the air was still exerting its power, and meteorites continued to fall, indeed creating a small safe zone amidst the tide of Spider Silk and swarms of spiders.

Meanwhile, the third person, who was panting heavily beside the Seagull, couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard Gao Shan's praise and the Seagull's boasting.

"Captain Shan, stop praising him! That kid's notorious for getting too big for his britches!"

She straightened up, flicked the slime off her knife after slicing the spider, and scratched her white-streaked bangs. "And you, Seagull... you've just been released from prison, stop showing off!"

The Seagull looked at the other, somewhat disgruntled. "Hey, Snowy Owl, I don't understand, what does this have to do with my release from prison—didn't I just turn the tide and save you two from dire straits?"

"You've saved a shovel," the Snowy Owl sighed. "Can your trick kill all these Spider Silk and spiders? Once the Witchcraft ends, won't we be surrounded again?"

"This move can only be used once before you go to your master to recharge it again—you've used such a strategic killing move so casually, what are we going to do next?"

The Snowy Owl said with a look of disappointment.

Seagull sighed, "What can we do? You're already under a 'curse' and can't unleash your full potential. If I hadn't used my ultimate, both Captain Shan and you would have been injured... These spiders are incredibly strange. The NPCs we encountered along the way all seemed to be manipulated, which is very likely related to these spiders and their Spider Silk."

"What if getting injured becomes a condition for being 'manipulated'?"

The Snowy Owl gritted its teeth and said, "At times like this, we have to take a gamble and fight. What's the point of stalling for time like this?"

Captain Shan quickly tried to smooth things over. "It was still useful; at least we did get a chance to catch our breath and think things through..."

"But then again, why did these spiders and Spider Silk suddenly appear?"

"This [Instance] clearly has six Player, but we can't even see the other three... and the objective is 'prevent Willow Town from appearing in the world'—we don't even know what Willow Town is?!"

"The only clues found on the bodies of those bandits at the beginning pointed to some kind of 'escort caravan'... but the problem is, where is the caravan? There's no sign of it!"

Gao Shan steered the conversation back to the Instance itself, thus shifting the focus away from Snowy Owl.

"Indeed, this [Instance] is the most inexplicable of all the Instance I've ever run," Snowy Owl said unhappily. "I already hate Prison Mountain; it's unbearably hot, and the food is the worst in the Six Realms —we can only roast Yaomo meat in the wild..."

"Now look what's happened, a bunch of spiders, and not even any meat to eat!"

"I'm so angry, "the Snowy Owl said, and the Seagull sympathized with her.

"Indeed, conditions in the Prison Mountain Realm are already harsh... and this [Instance] isn't even as simple and brutal as the previous Prison Mountain Realm," Seagull sighed. "Couldn't someone just fall from the sky to rescue us? Aren't there still three Player left?"

"Don't be silly, this Instance is most likely a PvP scenario," Snowy Owl sighed. "The enemy is probably watching over the caravan as we try to steal the goods..."

"Let alone whether they would save us if we encountered them, the chances of them finding us amidst all these spiders and Spider Silk are extremely slim."

As the Snowy Owl spoke, it raised its longsword again. "We must prepare for the worst..."

Hearing the Snowy Owl say this, both the Seagull and the Gao Shan sighed.

At this moment, the phantom in the sky was almost gone, and the frequency of meteorite falls was getting lower and lower.

Gao Shan took out his baton again, while Seagull pulled out a Notebook, ready for battle.

However, at that moment...

The Snowy Owl suddenly frowned slightly.

What's going on?

As meteorites become increasingly rare, the spiders and Spider Silk that had been cleared away have returned to them.

But at this moment...

The Snowy Owl noticed that the spiders and their Spider Silk suddenly changed direction, ignoring them!

Not only did the spider in front of them turn tail and run, but even the spider beside them simply jumped over them and ran off in one direction.

"Shuashuashua--"

They were even more relaxed now than when the Seagull had attracted the meteorite.

While a relaxed attitude is generally a good thing, the Snowy Owl couldn't be happy about this sudden change in attitude.

"What does this mean? Why are they suddenly ignoring us?"

"Then why were you so determined to kill us before?"

The Snowy Owl said, somewhat puzzled.

Gao Shan also fell into thought, "Could it be that they were frightened by the meteorite?"

"That doesn't make sense. We weren't afraid when the meteorite was falling, but now that it's almost over, we're scared," the Snowy Owl said, looking at the Seagull. "Does this move have a fear effect?"

"No... but could it be that their Boss recalled them?"

The Seagull refuted the Snowy Owl's question and offered its own guess.

"This is even more outrageous. I have a feeling they were moved away because they sensed a greater temptation or threat," the Snowy Owl frowned. "Could it be that some expert from the Prison Mountain Realm has intervened...?"

Gao Shan looked up. "I think the Snowy Owl is right, and we should have the answer soon, you see."

Gao Shan pointed to a spot not far ahead, where a bulge made of spider Spider Silk was moving rapidly—as if spiders and Spider Silk were constantly rushing towards something, but being blocked.

It looks like a hamster is moving quickly under the sand, stepping on a hamster ball, causing a ridge to appear in the sand.

And this thing's purpose was very clear—it was aimed at the three of them.

"Wow, there really is reinforcements!"

The Seagull became excited.

"Although the other party doesn't seem to like this spider either, it doesn't necessarily mean they're coming to support us."

As the Snowy Owl spoke, it held the knife upright in front of it with both hands.

And just then...

"Bang!"

Several spiders that had been flung away flew towards the Snowy Owl. After she sliced them open in mid-air with three slashes, she also saw the spiders appear behind them.

The Snowy Owl quickly glanced around; it didn't recognize a single person.

However, you can still tell from their attire that this is definitely Player.

The Snowy Owl remained alert and spoke in a cold voice.

"Night Watcher, Snowy Owl, state your names!"

The tall girl who seemed to be the leader among the three also spoke up.

"Hello, I'm a friend of the 'Night Watcher' from 'Jiang'an Hall' in Jiang City!"